I am new to AHA. I started home brewing in 1992, brewed for a few years, got married + kids, put equipment away, but started brewing again 4 years ago. I recently have had severe issues with my beers foaming out of my bottles when opened. I quit adding clarifiers to my fermenter, I open and drink my beers at “basement” temp (65F, which I think exposes the taste profile much better than cold beers). I use the typical 3/4 cup of table sugar at bottling time for 5 gallons.
Any suggestions?
Too warm for that level of carbonation. The volume of co2 is more than double from 40-64°
Thanks Steve. Maybe I should decrease the amount of sugar at bottling since I enjoy my beers at slightly higher than cellar temps.
Has there been any change in flavor/aroma? You said that the excessive foaming is “recent”, which I take to mean that you’ve been doing this a while and the beers never foamed up like this before.
If you can taste/smell phenolic flavors/aromas (clove, band-aids, adhesive or electrical tape, smoke), that shouldn’t be there, then you might be suffering from a wild yeast infection. Star-san is ineffective at killing wild yeasts. You can try to use a different sanitizer such as iodophor, or even bleach (after which you could THEN rinse fully and re-sanitize with star-san).
If that is the case, it also would be a good idea to replace your plastic and rubber components that touch your beer on the cold side.
HTH-
I haven’t noticed any off-flavors. I use bleach like its a bad habit, as well as IPA (on all items, and am always gloved, etc.), and rinse very well. I am very cautious and knowledgeable in aseptic technique (microbiologist).
The only thing I can think of that I am doing different is not clarifying. Perhaps I am bottling before the appropriate final gravity is met, and then adding sugar, which may cause over-carbonation.
If I cool them down to refrigerator temp, the problem disappears.
Not being at the final Gravity is certainly a possibility. Let the next few batches go a little long in the fermenter and make sure your gravity readings are stable before you bottle.
Thanks Steve. Will do.
Star-San is ineffective at killing wild yeast? Isn’t that the whole point of Star-San? If not for wild yeast and other bacteria, what are we sanitizing?
Apparently it does nothing for mold spores or yeast (wild or brewing strains), and pretty much tackles bacteria.
Interesting! So iodophor might be a better sanitizer to use? Do you have to rinse that?
I was surprised when I found this out, too. Apparently Star-San only “stuns” yeast and prevents additional grown when it is concentrated enough, but its not enough to actually kill them.
Iodophor is a good sanitizer, though it is slower to work and stains stuff over time. If you use it in the correct concentrations, it is ok to use it without rinsing. You just need to measure carefully.
Wow! Thank you for that. Good information.
OK, on my most recent batch, I have noticed an extreme off-flavor, and it foams incredibly out of the bottle when opened. Not sure how to describe the taste other than a very sharp acrid finish. I use Io Star Sanitizer from Five Star Chemicals & Supply to sterilize my bottles. Is that what you are referring to as Star San?
Yes, that’s it. Star-San.
Don’t get me wrong. Star san rocks in general. But wild yeasts can defeat it.
I suggest you bring a bottle to your LHBS or your local brew club, and have someone else verify it for you. Better chance for someone to taste it and verify it than for us to try to do it over the internet.
HTH-
Steve
I am pretty sure IO Star is five star chemicals iodine sanitizer which should be equivalent to iodophor. Is your sanitizing solution brownish yellow? Star San is clear and will foam easily if shaken up a little. It may be milky if used with tap water depending on the water content.
If star san is milky, isn’t that usually an indication that it has lost it’s effectiveness? Also, really hard water can react with the acid in star san, which also reduces its effectiveness.
My sanitizing solution is a dark brown.
sorry for the double post. Still trying to figure out how to post…
Wow, i went back and reread his post and I did skip over the “Io” part of the name of his sanitizer, and cempt1 is absolutely correct. It is an iodine based sanitizer. I saw 5 star and jumped the gun.
Sorry for the confusion.
(Dark brown is correct for an iodine sanitizer).